Source: Road & Track

2016 Chevrolet SS gets a stick and MagneRide

The General arms its 415-hp muscle sedan with a third pedal.

By Max Prince May 5, 2014 / Photos by Zach Bowman



The Chevrolet SS impressed mightily during our drive back in January, so much so that R&T Editor-in-Chief Larry Webster dubbed it "the most impressive Chevy sedan we've ever driven." High praise, and not lightly given, but now it seems the SS will finally correct one of our only gripes about the car. A Chevrolet source has confirmed to us that the SS will be offered with both an optional manual transmission and magnetic ride control for the 2016 model year.
Don't be surprised if the tranny is the Tremec TR-6060 found in the Aussie-market Holden Commodore, which the SS is essentially a rebadge of. It's also utilized in fellow Zeta-platform stablemates the Camaro SS and ZL1. Despite managing to edge the formidable Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG on our Motown Mile test track, Larry observed some lackadaisical behavior from GM's six-speed automatic transmission on occasion. A third pedal will remedy that, and we're eager to see how MagneRide—GM's advanced suspension technology that uses magnets to vary monotube shock fluid viscosity—works for Chevy's halo sedan on the circuit.
Zach BowmanThe addition of magnetic ride control and a manual 'box is tantalizing, but we'd love to see GM go even more extreme with the SS: Shave the weight and give it the 427 V8, six-piston Brembo carbon-ceramic stoppers, the incredible DSSV shocks, the ultra-sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R rubber from the Camaro Z/28. Name it after some batty old COPO code, drop it at SEMA 2014, then wait for the howling masses to beg for a production version.
Chevy SS with a Flowtie? Yeah, we could get behind that.
RELATED: 2014 Chevy SS Drive Notes

 

The 2014 Chevrolet SS is a four-door Corvette

The rear-drive, moonlights-as-a-cop-car, zombie-Pontiac rock star.

By Larry Webster January 29, 2014 / Photos by Andrew Trahan

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The new Chevy SS is sharp, tactile, a joy to abuse, and the most rewarding Chevy sedan we've ever driven. It's also a bit of an oddball, a performance car doing its best not to look like one.
We've been waiting for the SS ever since GM killed Pontiac in 2009 and, with it, the wonderful G8. That car, a big, rear-drive sedan with a V8 and a crotch-kick demeanor, was a made-for-the-USA version of the Australian-designed and -built Holden Commodore. Since then, GM has kept the G8 alive as the Chevy Caprice police cruiser, and they're now offering it to the rest of us.
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Enter the Chevrolet SS. It uses a new generation of the Holden platform, sharing only doors and glass with the departed G8. The changes are subtle, like a switch to aluminum for the hood and trunklid—overall, the car is roughly 60 lbs lighter—and a claimed stiffening of the structure. There's still a small-block V8, now with 415 delicious hp, but sadly, the G8's manual transmission option is gone.
The gearbox loss stings, but it's forgotten as soon as you bury the throttle. By our clock, the SS runs to 60 in just 4.5 seconds and demolishes the quarter-mile in only 12.9 seconds—performance on par with last year's BMW M3.
Andrew TrahanLike that BMW, the SS is no straight-line-only special. The suspension is wonderfully starchy, with body control that takes the edge off road imperfections yet doesn't filter out valuable information. For a large sedan, the SS is remarkably balanced, willing to corner cleanly, or, if stability control is switched off, dance around every turn in a lurid, smoky slide.
These kinds of antics are addictive, as is the entire car. In addition to our usual back-road test route, we ran the SS on our home airport track, the Motown Mile. Save the occasional lazy gear change, the SS takes to the track eagerly. The car's lap time, 57.43 seconds, is a few tenths quicker than that of the all-wheel-drive Mercedes E63 AMG.
READ THIS: GM product boss Mark Reuss wants a wagon
Some may cry that the Chevy's $45,770 base price is too steep. But there's refinement here to rival the Europeans. The SS feels like an American version of the BMW M5, with the only demerits being the acquired-taste chrome flashes and demure sheetmetal. We don't need to advertise our speed, but the SS is essentially a four-door Corvette. It should have a bit of swagger.

 

 

Drive Notes: 2014 Chevrolet SS

The last of the V8s in all its glory.

By Zach Bowman March 20, 2014 / Photos by Zach Bowman

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If there’s a worse car to drive to Michigan in February, you’d have a hard time finding it. With big, meaty summer tires and 415 hp kicking at the rear axle, I spent more time steering through the side glass around Ann Arbor than gazing down the sedan’s hood.
READ THIS: Drive Notes: 2014 Chevrolet Volt
Not that I’m complaining. It’s easy to forget how brilliant a good V8 in a solid car can be, and this is a very solid car. I shoved 1100 miles through this machine in a week, roaming from Knoxville up to Ann Arbor and back through Ohio. This isn’t just a rebodied G8.
The whole machine feels substantial and well-sorted. The big Brembo brakes haul the car down from speed, which is great since the SS seems happiest between 80 and 100 mph. Ask me how I know.
Zach BowmanThe cabin is quiet and comfortable with genuinely nice materials. Sure, the embroidery on the dash looks like it was lifted from a Starter jacket, but the interior feels right-sized. The seats aren’t exactly sporty, but they suggest that they have, at some point, thought of sport. That’s good enough for me.
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There’s ample space in the back seat and in the trunk. It’s a car that’s built to soak up miles, and it does it with unabashed pleasure.
PLUS:
Sleeper styling, womping V8, smart interior, and IT’S A FREAKING COP CAR.
MINUS:
Sleeper styling, steering that’s better than you expect, but still not great. Also, there is no stripper model. What you see is what you get.